


Malfunction

by KieraAmbers



Category: No Straight Roads (Video Game)
Genre: no one stays dead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:00:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26931022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KieraAmbers/pseuds/KieraAmbers
Summary: Neon J has to go away for a business trip, leaving 1010 in charge of themselves. While Rin believes the only trouble he'll have to deal with is rowdy behavior from his other brothers, something much more malicious aims to ruin them.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 68





	1. Chapter 1

Neon J had given his orders clearly before he left. He would be going away on an official business trip to meet some new artist from another city who wished to join NSR. Something about Supernovas or whatever. Rin would be in charge until he got back next week. He was the eldest and most experienced, so Rin was chosen to be the leader.

Which, of course, meant Zimelu and Haym thought they could do whatever they wanted. While he knew his brothers were annoyed with the whole “order leads to progress” thing from Tatiana, Rin knew she had truth in her statement. Which made him more frustrated that the two wanted to do anything with impunity. Well, Haym just wanted to go to admire bugs and plants and subsequently get himself covered in dirt. Zimelu was the real problem as he was meant to be the risk taker, and by god did he act like it.

Rin grumbled into his metal hand as Purl-hew argued with Zimelu for about the fifth time this week. It was only Monday. Haym and Eloni just watched from the side, quiet out of fear. They knew Rin probably wouldn’t snap at them, but they did not want to find out what “snapping at them” would even look like. If TV taught them anything, it's to not mess with the composed one.

“This is the last time I even consider letting try on my glasses!” The blue android yelled.

“Well sorry! I didn’t know they were so fragile! You go dancing around with those things like they are made of titanium!” The red one shouted back.

“Of course they’re fragile by your standards! You jumped from the roof of the mansion! Of course they would break!”

“You can replace them anyway, what's the big deal!”

“Yes, and your face can be replaced too, but I’m sure you wouldn’t like it if I punched you hard enough to crack it!”

“That’s enough, you two.” Rin finally said after regaining his composure. “Zimelu, I’m making you clean the outside of the mansion as punishment for your antics.”

“WHAT?!” Zimelu protested.

“You’ve been an utter nuisance ever since Neon J left. YESTERDAY. Consider this a punishment for all of it.” Rin continued, unfazed. “Purl-hew, just...just go get another pair of glasses. And don’t go attacking Zimelu for it.” Purl-hew lets out an annoyed sigh, but it was the only sign of displeasure or defiance he displayed. “Now go.” The two androids turn and head off in separate directions. After a few seconds of silence to let Rin calm down more, Eloni coughs into his hand.

“So...uh…” The thought he had escaped his mind quickly, Haym butting in for him.

“You wanna go to Natura? I know you like the plants and peacefulness there.” Rin knew Haym was only asking this so he could look at the plants and insects. He was always the outgoing and curious one...But, Haym was right. As much as Rin preferred his home, he often liked going to the Natura District due to how much more quiet it was. Rin sighs a bit and nods a bit.

“Yeah, that sounds good. The two should go nowhere near each other while we’re gone. Hopefully.” Rin turns around to his two brothers, running his fingers through his hair.

“Cool! Uh, you wanna go now?” Eloni piped up. He only got a nod from Rin and the three quickly left. It was a quick walk to the Natura District, Rin expertly having navigated the back roads to avoid the media. The walk there was already calming Rin down, but the Natura District was enough to make Rins smile return. The sight of the trees blowing in the wind, the beautiful golden arch ways. Even the advertisement with Yinu in it that continuously played made Rin laugh again.

Eloni smiles at Rin laughing and smiling again, and he giggles at Hayms fascination with the plants. Rin rolls his white eyes at Haym talking about the bush leaves to Eloni. At least Haym was controlling himself. Unlike Zimelu. That man could never know when to shut up or control himself could he? The next thing Rin knows he’s gonna come back and the mansion is going to be on fire or something. Who knows what-

WARNING: TROOP COMPROMISED. REQUESTING BACK UP.

Rin couldn’t see much behind the warning message that appeared in front of him, but he could tell Haym and Eloni flinched at the sight of it too. The two turn to Rin when they could see again for an order as to what to do. Rin sighs.

“Let’s go. We don’t want the two of them making it worse.” Haym was slightly disappointed but the three quickly turn to head back. At least Rin was feeling better. For now.


	2. Chapter 2

Rin had seen a lot of stuff as second-in-command. He could go for days the amount of stupid things Zimelu did that made his circuits nearly fry themselves. Though, he can’t really blame Zimelu for the reason he doesn’t do shows when Neon J isn’t here.

But he certainly hasn’t seen anything like...this.

It wasn’t comfortable coming home to see Zimelu nervously laughing. The android had been shaken horribly and could only point them towards Purl-hews room when asked what happened. Rin was the brave one to open the door. On the ground was Purl-hew, his glasses scattered just a few feet from him, a slim and long slit down his back, like that of an axe mark.

Rin felt some of his systems freeze at the sight. He barely heard Haym scream or Eloni fainting behind him. He just stared at the body in front of him, “who”, “what”, “why” and “how”s swirling through his head. Eventually he heard his name behind him, snapping him out of the tornado of questions he was in.

“Rin? What should we do?” Ah. Right. Rin looked back at Purl-hew and tried to think of something quickly, the three needed some sort of answer.

“...Bring him to the workshop. We’ll repair him there.” Rin answered after a few seconds.

“Are you sure we can even repair him? Why don’t we use the factory?” Zimelu asked. It was at least a good point he had, but Rin shook his head.

“Without Captain here, the factory wouldn’t work properly, and I doubt Captain would be happy if we broke that while he was gone.” Rin answered. He could almost sense his brothers nodding. Eventually, Haym stepped forward to the body and rolled over.

“...Doesn’t look like there was any other injuries…” Haym observed. He hoisted Purl-hew into his arms and walked out of the room. Eloni, having recovered from fainting, looks around the room briefly.

“Hey...that window wasn’t always opened, right?” Rin looked towards where Eloni was pointing.

“...No, Purl-hew doesn’t open his windows. Keeps the leaves out.” Rin commented.

“...So, someone purposefully opened it to get in here.” Zimelu exclaimed in realization.

“A-Are we in danger then?!” Eloni asked.

“No. We’ll be safe, I promise you.” Rin said, finally turning towards his brothers. Zimelu was holding Eloni close to him protectively. “Let’s head back to the workshop. I’ll get to fixing Purl-hew.”

Haym had set Purl-hew on the table, his back facing outward so Rin could see the part that had been broken. Rin, once he got there, pulled the back plate off to get a better idea of the damage. Haym, Eloni and Zimelu wait off to the side.

“...Alright, good news is that this damage is repairable. Bad news is, it’s gonna take me more than one day to do it.” Rin reported.

“But, he can be repaired.” Eloni repeated, optimistic. Rin turned his head and nod with a smile.

“That’s good to hear.” Haym said, relieved. “Say, Zimelu, how did you find him so quickly? Weren’t you supposed to be outside?”

“Well,” Zimelu started, recalling the memory. “The sound something bashing against a machine isn’t exactly the quietest...or most pleasant thing to hear.”

“So you heard it happen. Did you see anything?” Eloni asked.

“Only Purl-hew.” Zimelu said, slight fear in his voice. Rin picked it up quickly.

“We’ll find out what happened soon. Let me fix Purl-hew for now. You all go rest.” Rin said.

“Alright.”  
“Yes, sir!”  
“Fine, Rin.”

Rin listens to the metal footsteps leave the room. He looks back at the damage, the questions entering his head again. He shook his head. No. He’ll focus on that later. Right now, he needs to repair his brother. He grabs a tool box from under the desk.


	3. Chapter 3

Tick. Tick. Tick. Eloni could hear the clock next to him making the same repetitive tune. Unknowingly, he was tapping his finger on the desk on beat. He stared at the screens in front of him, his eyes sometimes shifting towards the radar tracking movement around Barraca Mansion. He knew that this would take a while, but the jitters he was having kept him from boredom.

Eloni had decided to skip sleeping that night to look at security cameras. Maybe they could catch the culprit if they came back for another night. He had to do it to ease jitters and stress. Specifically the stress Rin had to have been feeling. His first day of becoming leader, and one of his brothers was-

Eloni shook the thought from his mind. No, he was being repaired, he wasn’t...wasn’t…

Eloni looked back at the monitors to move away from the topic. But questions circled in his head. Who would have done this? Zimelu?! No, come on, that’s ridiculous. Eloni knew Zimelu argued with Purl-hew a lot (and he was the only one the brothers knew was at the mansion during the time of the attack), but Purl-hew was his fellow soldier! More than that, they were brothers! Zimelu wouldn’t do anything like that! If anything, Zimelu would have tried to prevent it if he was there.

The thought of Zimelu’s protective nature drifted Eloni’s mind to the next question. Why? Why would someone do this? The few years Eloni had as a musician gave him a few ideas, possessiveness from fans, some sick attempt to get someone’s love. Eloni groaned and looked down, he didn’t wanna think someone did this because of that. He wanted to think they had some reason, some good reason to do it. How sure was he that they had it?...Admittedly, not sure at all, but he wanted to think there was something behind the horrible action.

Eloni shook his head for what felt like the fourth time in a few minutes. Ah, he was getting paranoid. He needed to focus on the facts. So, instead of who could have done it, and why, he focused on the last question on his mind. “How”. That was easier to get a better idea of it. He began to think of the crime scene. Easy for someone who just had the image of it in their memory banks, and a picture of it before too.

Eloni compared the two images in his head and grabbed a notebook. He might as well do detective work while he waited for something. The obvious first thing that had to be addressed was...well...Purl-hew. He remembered the injury. A thin and long slit along his back. A quick attack it had to be. Maybe a butcher's knife was used? No, for as scary as those things could be, he doubted a butcher's knife could pierce through solid metal with the full blade, even if it was thrown. He thought more. An axe? Maybe. Yeah, he could believe something like that was used, so he quickly scribbled it down.

Now, what else was there? Well, the window was opened. Makes sense, Purl-hew’s room is on the second floor, they would have to go through the window to get in. But then how did Zimelu miss them? Come to think of it, how did the killer even get the surprise on Purl-hew? They have radars. Surely Purl-hew wasn’t so distracted he didn’t pick up what his radar did. Although that might be an explanation for Zimelu, who heard it before seeing it. He wrote these down quickly. Now, what else...

Well, there wasn’t anything else moved or scratched. No signs of struggle. That supported his thought that Purl-hew got surprised, but again, his mind went back to their inbuilt radar. How did Purl-hew miss it? He couldn’t have, right? Eloni wrote the question down and looked through his notes. It was as good as it was going to get, unless he thought of something during tonig-

Eloni snapped his head around and snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of something falling. He looked to the radar. Nothing still. His eyes darted to the cameras, trying to calm himself, maybe it wasn’t the culprit. Maybe something was just poorly placed and it fell. Right? Maybe?

Eloni’s eyes widened as he spotted something on the leftmost monitor. There was someone there, wearing a hood to cover their face and holding an axe. Eloni quickly marked a check mark next to the notes and quickly stood up. Finally, solid answers. He hesitated with bringing his notes along with him so he tore the page out and stuck it underneath a pencil, bringing another one and the notebook with him. He took his first nervous step towards the door and left to confront them.


	4. Chapter 4

Rin was jerked out of his sleep mode by the scream. An utterly horrible scream of fear. He looked around briefly, not recognizing the environment for a moment before realizing it was the workshop with Purl-hew. The sun was just beginning to rise. He quickly stood up after identifying where he was and raced out, seeing Zimelu running towards the noise when he slammed the door open. The two brothers didn’t say a word to each other as they ran through the mansion and Zimelu skid to a stop when he turned the corner, Rin following soon after.

Haym was standing in front of another body. Eloni’s body. His face had a slit through it. Haym was frozen with his mouth covered, panic and fear making his systems not work.

“Wh-Wha-How-What HAPPENED?!” Zimelu shouted, quickly racing towards the body in panic.

“I-I don’t-I was-I-He-I-I-I-I-” Haym stuttered, his audio output glitching as more panic set in. Rin was still frozen, his CPU scrambling to find something to do. He understood Haym’s utter terror. Before, they believed it to be a one-time incident, who knows, it could have been an accident. But now, with Eloni having suffered the same fate, it became undeniable. Someone wanted something, someone was doing this intentionally. They were in danger. Zimelu stepped forward, holding his hands out to try and calm Haym.

“Hey, hey, hey, let’s be calm about this-” He was interrupted before he could get through his sentence.

“BE CALM!!! THEY’RE DEAD!!! DEAD!!! WE’RE GOING TO BE NEXT!!!” Hayms shouts practically rang through the halls.

“They’re not dead, Rin can repair them!” Zimelu rebutted.

“AND SO WHAT?! SO WE CAN BE DESTROYED AGAIN?! WHOEVER IS DOING THIS PROBABLY ENJOYED SEEING ELONI BEG FOR HIS LIFE!!!” Haym yelled.

“We will find them! We have cameras, radar, memory banks, we will find them!” Zimelu raised his voice.

“WITH ALL OF THAT HOW HAVE WE NOT FOUND THEM!!! FOR ALL WE KNOW YOU COULD HAVE DONE IT!!!” Haym shoves an accusatory finger into Zimelu’s face, shaking Rin out of his thought process and making Zimelu flinch back.

“Wh-ME?! I COULDN’T DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS!!! I WOULDN’T DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS!!!” Zimelu shouted back.

“Wait-”

“AND HOW CAN WE TRUST YOU ON THAT?! YOU ALWAYS ARGUE WITH PURL-HEW!!! YOU ALWAYS CALL ELONI WEAK!!!” Haym shouted further.

“WELL, YOU ARE ALWAYS ANNOYED WITH PURL-HEWS DEMEANOR!!! AND YOU PITY ELONI TO A DISGUSTING DEGREE!!!” Zimelu raised his voice.

“Stop-”

“OH DON’T TURN THIS ON ME!!! YOU DID THIS TO THEM!!! WHO'S NEXT?! ME?! RIN?! THEN DO IT HERE THEN!!! WHAT’S STOPPING YOU?!” Haym yelled.

“Guys-!”

“I DIDN’T DO THIS!!! HOW DO I KNOW YOU DIDN’T DO IT?! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK-”

“SHUT UP!!!” Rin’s shout causes both Zimelu and Haym to turn their attention away from each other and towards the white android. “JUST SHUT UP!! BOTH OF YOU!!! YOU BOTH ARE NOT MAKING ANYTHING BETTER!!! YOU BOTH ALWAYS MESS SOMETHING UP!!! YOU ALWAYS TRY TO SNEAK OUT, HAYM, YOU ALWAYS DISOBEY ORDERS TO STAY INSIDE EVEN WHEN IT'S FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY!!! AND YOU ALWAYS DO REALLY RECKLESS AND IDIOTIC THINGS, ZIMELU!!! ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS YOURSELF AND ALL YOU WANT IS TO MAKE YOUR FAMILY PANIC AND WORRY!!! BOTH OF YOU AREN'T ANY HELP AND I HOPE YOU BOTH ARE NEXT BECAUSE MAYBE THEN I COULD BE ABLE TO THINK STRAIGHT, WORRY ABOUT ONE THING AND FINALLY HAVE SOME PEACE AND QUIET!!!” Rin’s words stun Haym and Zimelu into silence. Rin, shoving both of them to the side, picks up Eloni’s body and heads off, letting out one last growl of anger as he heads back to the workshop.

“...Rin…” Haym’s whisper makes Zimelu turn to him. He pauses, feeling guilt weigh him down. He tries to think of something to say.

“...He’s probably just...just very stressed right now...I’m sure he didn’t mean it…” Zimelu looks to Haym for some reaction, to which Haym just looks down.

“...I’m sorry…” Haym said meekly. “I-I shouldn’t have accused you…”

“Hey, we were all in a panic. None of the words we said are anything we meant, right?” Zimelu responds, in an attempt to both comfort and apologize. Haym nods and turns to Zimelu.

“I don’t think Rin would like us to go bother him. But we still need to do something. What should we do?” He asks, hoping for some sort of direction. Zimelu places a hand over his mouth as he thought. He looks over and spots a notebook near where Eloni had laid. A lightbulb goes off in his head.


	5. Chapter 5

It was empty in the room, full of servers and computers. Silence. Then the door clicks and opens, Zimelu taking his first steps inside. He looks around out of instinct, seeing no one in there and then leads Haym inside. He looks out to see if anyone was coming and then closes the door.

“Alright. Looks like nothing was touched.” Haym said as he looked around the room.

“They must have been more focused on...you know, then not getting caught.” Zimelu responded. He heads to the computer and boots it up before grabbing a cord.

“Why did Dad make us able to just rip data off computers?” Haym asked curiously.

“Hell if I know, but it’s coming in handy now.” He plugs the cord into the back of his neck before plugging it into the computer. His eyes change to loading symbols and he waits.

“So, we’ll have to watch their memories, right?” Haym asked, obviously just trying to clarify the situation.

“Yeah, our programmed recognition software isn’t going to fully get what’s happening. We’ll have to watch it ourselves.” Zimelu said, barely moving as he stares at the screen. “As much as I hate infringing on my brother's privacy, it's the only way we can prevent another one of us from falling.”

“You know...you’re actually really smart and considerate.” Haym mentions with a smile.

“Lot of people don’t think so.” Zimelu quickly responds.

“You’re just reckless and impulsive, that's your problem.” Haym shoots back.

“Shut up.” There’s a quick and soft “beep” and Zimelu takes the cord out from himself and the computer. “Alright, got copies of the files. Let’s head upstairs to the briefing room.”

“Theatre.” Haym corrected.

“Dad calls it the briefing room.” Zimelu simply answers as they head upstairs. They enter a large room with a few chairs here and there and film reels on shelves. The thing Zimelu’s eyes darted to was the projector in the middle of the room. Haym sits down in one of the chair and sighs.

“It feels weird.” Haym mumbled.

“What does?” Zimelu asked as he began to hook himself up to the projector. Haym jumps, not having realized Zimelu had heard him.

“It’s just-uh-this place is one we used for fun and memories...It feels so disconcerting to use it for something as morbid as this.” Haym thought aloud. The only response he got was a solemn nod from Zimelu before he was hooked to the projector. His eyes go black. 

“Alright. Let’s see what happened here.” Zimelu said as he looked up from the hooked piece. “Playing Purl-hew’s memory in 3...2...1…” The projector springs to life.  
...  
Purl-hew entered his own room. It was a pleasant and orderly one, charging station neatly in the corner, shelves of records and music CDs lined alphabetically, gifts from fans neatly stacked in an open closet and a neat pile of letters on more shelves. Purl-hew went to his closet and grabbed one of the pairs of glasses on a shelf on top. He grumbled, seeing the dust along the glass. He headed over to another shelf and grabbed a cleaning kit, taking a cloth and spray out of it. He sprayed his shades before taking the cloth to clean them. He tapped his foot as he did the menially task, nothing blipping on his radar. Which made the sudden strike given to his back all the more surprising. He collapsed to the ground, finding his systems unable to work. He twitched, unable to move, unable to see his attacker before his systems shut down.  
...  
Zimelu and Haym paused when the memory was done playing. It was uncomfortable to witness, seeing their brother blissfully unaware of his impending doom. Admittedly, the two might have jumped at the sudden strike, as nothing indicated when the attack would happen. Zimelu sighs.

“I don’t think we can gather anything from that...this person’s smart.” He says, tapping his foot.

“Well, nothing blipped on Purl-hew’s radar.” Haym observed. “Maybe they have something on them blocking out radar detection?”

“That’s fair. In that case we’ll have to find some other way to track them.” Zimelu said, before waving a hand through the air like he was dissipating a thought bubble. “We’re getting ahead of ourselves though. Alright. Playing Eloni’s memory in 3...2...1…”  
...  
Eloni could feel himself shaking uncontrollably as he approached where he saw the person standing on the camera. He bit his tongue and began to slowly count.

“1...2...3...4...5…” Eloni counted, feeling himself calming down. “6...7...8...9...10…It’s nothing to worry about. I can defend myself. All I need to do is ask them some questions.” He wandered through the darkened halls of Barraca Mansion before finally reaching the room he saw the attacker. He looked around, frightened, before calling out. “Hello?”

“...You really want to make yourself obvious?” A voice calls out, making Eloni flinch. He knew for a fact it wasn’t one of his brothers, it sounded far too different, too young to be the voice he and his brothers were given to by Neon J. The figure walks out of hiding, Eloni’s nightvision being able to only make out the cloak they were wearing. Strange. Didn’t they have an axe?

“You’re the one that harmed Purl-hew, aren’t you?” Eloni said, putting on a brave face. The figure pauses before breaking into chuckles.

“...Yes. I am.” The lack of remorse in their voice made Eloni’s circuits go cold.

“Why?” Eloni couldn’t stop himself from asking. The figure chuckles before darting at Eloni and knocking him down, placing a foot on to his chest to keep him from moving. All things considered, he probably could have moved them without trouble, if his systems would just function instead of going dead due to fear.

“I suppose since you’re my next target I could tell you. It’s not like you’ll be able to tell anyone.” Eloni gulped, his systems freezing more. “You know. I am impressed. You and your brothers are probably built with some of the most advanced technology anyone has seen. All built by one man, Neon J. But here’s the thing. None of you deserve to be his. I do. And once I show him just how fragile and pathetic you really are, I’ll enter his life and I’ll get what I want! And after you and Rin are gone, the other two can do my job for me. Heheheh!” Eloni, panicking, grabs their foot to try and push them off. Something crushes in his hand and he hears the ping of his radar. Suddenly there’s a smash and he shuts down.  
…  
Zimelu and Haym stare at the screen when the memory finishes. Zimelu taps his foot on the ground as he processes what he saw.

“...Rin will be next.” Haym said, causing Zimelu to look over at him. “They said it themselves.”

“Yeah...I cannot believe someone would go so far for some mans affection.” Zimelu comment, seeming genuinely angered by their motivation.

“Come on, let’s go prepare. We need to keep Rin safe tonight.” Haym said as he stood up. Zimelu nodded.

“Let’s go get revenge.”


	6. Chapter 6

Rin grumbles into his hand. His internal clock read 1:04 am, and the stars outside proved it to be true. He had managed to repair Purl-hew’s back and was fixing up Eloni’s face, from whatever happened to them. Rin leans back in his chair, wanting to scream into his hands. Staring at his deactivated brothers was taunting him almost, like they were saying just how much he failed as their leader. And with Zimelu and Haym nearly tearing each other apart, it felt like their family could just collapse at any moment. What would Neon J say about this?

Rin shook the thought from his mind and stared down at the bare endoskeleton face of Eloni. He always was unnerved to see what lied under their faces. Rin tapped his foot slightly and worked precisely and focused. He had to get Eloni repaired soon and one wrong mistake could make things worse. Like that could happen, Rin thought, the stress of the situation still lingering in his head. He heard a ping and checked his radar. Something behind him. Maybe Zimelu came to suggest something ridiculous. Just ignore them, he thought.

Another ping later, the person was moving closer. Rin didn’t flinch. Suddenly, two pings. Hm, probably just Haym. Odd, though, they haven’t said anything. Ping.

Wait, who’s outside the door?

“GAH!” Rin whirled around at the sound in surprise, seeing Zimelu trying to wrestle an axe to someone unfamiliar that had gotten far too close for Rin to be comfortable. Being careful to put the tools away he grabs a metal rod as Zimelu is kicked back and loses grip of the axe, holding it up to block the axe swing towards his chest. Rin instinctively kicked the attacker back into the other table, causing them to be dazed and drop their axe. Zimelu grabs and tosses it to a scared Haym who holds it away from them. The figure’s hood had been knocked off from the kick and they growled.

“You!” Zimelu nearly shouted in anger. “You’re the one who harmed Eloni and Purl-hew!”

“A-And you did it for such a selfish reason!” Haym called, trying to be brave.

“Wait, how do you-” Rin started.

“I’ll tell you later!” Zimelu snapped back. The figure giggles, only stopping when Zimelu slams a foot into the chest, knocking the wind out of them. “I should tear you apart for all of this!”

“Do it then!” The figure taunts. “Show your father just how much a liability you are!”

“So what if he thinks that?” Haym shouts. “He’ll still never forgive you for harming his sons!”

“Don’t bother leaving, we’ve already called the police!” Zimelu said as he held the figure up in anger. Rin stares as the two brothers and the figure go back and forth. Rin looks down, anger gripping him and he picks up the tool box he had. With a scream of rage, Zimelu barely dodges the tool box as it hits the figure dead in the face, causing them to go limp and unconscious. Zimelu stares in surprise.

“...Sorry.” Rin says sheepishly as he runs his fingers through his white hair. “I just needed someone to get punched.”

“...I get it.” Zimelu shrugs.

“...Hey, Rin? Do you think we can help you with Eloni?” Haym asks as he places the axe back. Rin pauses before nodding.

“I think I’d like that...but first, let’s deal with this one.” Rin looked over at the unconscious figure.

“What do you suppose we do?” Zimelu asks. Rin thinks before smiling mischievously.

“Zimelu, Haym. Go tie them up on the gates to the mansion.” Rin said, making Zimelu perk up. “I want the news to catch wind of this. I want them humiliated.” Zimelu smiles evilly.

“Will do.”  
…  
The police arrived quickly afterwards, Zimelu, Haym and Rin watching them take the figure away with satisfaction. It was long before the media began to request interviews for the boys. Rin, Zimelu and Haym gave many interviews about the experience, and we’re happy to see them premiere alongside the sentence to prison the figure, who was named Candace Garvin, got. And after it was all over, Rin stayed in the workshop, placing Eloni next to Purl-hew once he was finished. He turns to Haym.

“Ready?” He asks. Haym nods and with the signal, Haym pulls a switch, power the two on. The lights in their eyes flickered before turning on, Purl-hew holding his head in confusion while Eloni jumps and looks around frantically. He quickly calms down at the sight of the three brothers.

“Haym? Rin? Zimelu?” Eloni asks, relaxing.

“Seems so.” Purl-hew responds as he places his glasses back on. “What happened?”

“A lot.” Zimelu admits.

“What did you do this time?” Purl-hew asks.

“HEY!” Zimelu yells, feeling accused. Surprisingly, Rin laughs at this. Zimelu soon laughs alongside him.

“I’m glad to see you two safe.” Rin says after he calmed down. “Come on, let’s go to Natura. We need some time to relax.”

“YES!” Haym shouts excitedly. Eloni hops off the table and helps Purl-hew off too. Haym takes off first, followed by Zimelu chasing after him in a race. Purl-hew and Eloni head ahead as well as Eloni tries to explain what happened. Rin smiles at his brothers and runs his fingers through his hair again as he walks with them.


	7. Epilogue

Neon J stretches as he finally got off the plane, happy to finally be back in the city he knew well. He didn’t need to look over his shoulder to know someone new was following him, as expected. It was a rather large man in a blue hoodie with a very distinct helmet that looked like the far reaches of space. Neon J let out a mechanical laugh as the man walked next to him before patting him on the back.

“Welcome to Vinyl City, soldier!” He said with pride. “I will be scheduling a meeting at NSR tower in the next couple of days. We will discuss your Lights Up Audition there. In the meantime feel free to look around our home, Supernova.” Supernova nods calmly.

“Very well. I will see what this city has to offer to me.” He seemed to smile as he said this. The two turn towards a crowd down the hall of the airport, hearing a lot of talking coming from there. “What do you suppose is happening over there?” Supernova asks as he turns to Neon J. Neon J’s radar quickly showed a blue dot amongst the crowd and Neon J laughed.

“Ah, one of my troops is here to pick me up. Do you think you can get to the hotel you're staying at, or do you need me to call someone?” Neon J asks.

“I can handle it by myself, thank you.” Supernova responds.

“Very well. I suppose I’ll see you at the Lights Up Audition then.” Neon J says, to which Supernova nods again. After giving Supernova a goodbye salute, Neon J walks over to the crowd and calls out. “Purl-hew!” The crowd quickly parts for Neon J and Purl-hew turns, smiling and quickly makes his way towards Neon J before saluting, which Neon J returns.

“Captain! Are you ready to come home, sir?” Purl-hew asked.

“Affirmative! Vehicle is outside?” Neon J responded.

“Affirmative, sir.” Purl-hew replied, almost breaking into laughter.

“Then let us move out!” Neon J commanded before dropping his salute, followed by Purl-hew dropping his. Neon J makes the crowd disperse before continuing to walk with Purl-hew and soon exiting the building, getting in the flying limousine he had made. Purl-hew goes below deck before coming back as the car drives off from the airport.

“Destination, Barraca Mansion.” Purl-hew reports.

“Excellent. I hadn’t expected that crowd around you when I got back.” Neon J admitted.

“Eh, a lot happened while you were gone, Captain.” Purl-hew replied, chuckling a bit. “If we ever find the time we’ll tell you what happened, but I doubt that since you’ll be telling us about the trip.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Neon J snapped, causing Purl-hew to chuckle more.

“Oh, nothing. Nothing at all, Captain.” Purl-hew says, turning and waving it off. Neon J’s sight was quickly diverted from the chuckling androids face to the androids back when he turned however.

“...Soldier? Where did you get that scar?” Neon J asks, pointing to a light black scar along the back of the android. Purl-hew’s smile disappears briefly.

“...like I said, a lot happened while you were gone.” Purl-hew said with a slight shrug. “We’ll tell you later.” Neon J, despite clearly being displeased with the answer, pushed no further. The car soon pulls up to Barraca Mansion and the two enter the house, quickly hearing Zimelu shouting while Haym and Eloni laugh happily. Purl-hew rolled his eyes from behind his glasses. “WE’RE HOME!!!” He called as the two found the three brothers in the dining room, playing a game on the table. The three quickly stand up and salute to Neon J. However, before Neon J could say something, he quickly noticed a scar across Eloni’s face. He briskly walked towards Eloni, which made Eloni flinch a bit, and grabs Eloni’s face to get a better look at the scar.

“...How did this happen?” He says, turning Eloni’s face towards the three brothers.

“Again, a lot happened.” Purl-hew repeated himself. “You just got back from the airport. You should rest. Then we’ll tell you.” Neon J huffs, not liking the withholding of information from him, but lets go of Eloni. One cycle around his radar, and he speaks up again.

“Where’s Rin?” He asks.

“In the workshop, sir.” Zimelu was the first to respond.

“Ah, very well. I’ll go see if he’s alright. Also at ease.” He says as he turns and heads towards the workshop, the three brothers lowering their salute. He opens the door to the workshop, looking around briefly before noticing Rin. Rin had his head on a desk, currently in sleep mode, a work in progress in front of him, tools scattered across the table and a blueprint underneath him. Neon J smiles internally and leaves, only to come back with a blanket, which he lays over Rin’s shoulders. He ruffles his hair before whispering.

“Good night, son.” And with that, he leaves him to rest.


End file.
